Onosato Stays in Control at the Autumn Basho with a Convincing Win Over Mitakeumi

Sekiwake Onosato maintained his unblemished record and sole possession of the lead at the midway point of the Autumn Basho on Sunday, September 15 with a one-sided win over Mitakeumi.

Onosato, who lost to former ozeki Mitakeumi in the previous tournament, came bursting out of the face-off with a double-handed thrust to the neck of his opponent.

He then used a powerful shove to the upper body to send the third-ranked maegashira toppling off the raised ring while improving to 8-0. Mitakeumi fell to 2-6.

Onosato wrapped up a winning record for this tournament. But the 24-year-old has much bigger goals in mind for the second week of the basho.

"I made sure I did my research and did what I needed to do to beat him this time," Onosato said. "I'm moving forward and everything is working out for me. It's far from over so I'm just trying to stay focused."

Onosato is bidding to earn the fastest-ever promotion to sumo's second-highest rank, taking just nine tournaments since turning pro to achieve the feat. 

He needs just four more wins in the 15-day tourney to reach the benchmark of 33 wins over three consecutive tournaments required for promotion to ozeki.

Kirishima Raises Record to 7-1 at the Autumn Basho

In other major bouts at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament, former ozeki Kirishima stayed in the hunt for the title when he used a frontal push-down to defeat fifth-ranked maegashira Ura and improve to 7-1.

Sekiwake Kirishima did a superb job of keeping Ura at a distance before pushing him off the raised ring. Ura fell to 4-4.

In the day's final bout at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan, ozeki Hoshoryu used a spectacular head-lock throw at the edge to send No 3 maegashira Wakamotoharu (5-3) catapulting off the ring.

Ozeki Kotozakura, who lost on the previous day, kept his title hopes alive and improved to 6-2 when he deployed a barrage of arm thrusts to defeat fourth-ranked Shodai, who lost his fourth straight bout to drop to 4-4.

Wakatakakage, Takayasu Among the Title Contenders

No 7 maegashira Wakatakakage got into a slap-fest with sumo's Ironman Tamawashi (3-5) before using a frontal force-out to dispatch the No 10 maegashira and join the large group of grapplers who are at 6-2.

That group also includes eight-time runner-up Takayasu, who dodged to his right and used a hand pull-down of No 11 Kagayaki to improve to 6-2.

No 15 maegashira Takayasu is a former ozeki who has come close to winning the Emperor's Cup but has never been able to get over the final hurdle.

Mongolian Oshoma, a ninth-ranked maegashira, slapped down Churanoumi to stay in the Autumn Basho chase pack at 6-2. Seventh-ranked Churanoumi fell to 5-3.

No 8 maegashira Endo is also in the group of seven wrestlers at 6-2 after he shoved out struggling fifth-ranked maegashira Shonannoumi, who dropped to 1-7.

Rank-and-filers Hokutofuji and Nishikigi are both at 6-2 after winning their bouts.

RELATED:

• Onosato Manhandles Hiradoumi to Stay Perfect at Autumn Basho
• Onosato Takes Sole Lead at Autumn Basho with a Convincing Win Over Takanosho
• Kotozakura Overpowers Atamifuji to Stay Undefeated and Tied for Lead at Autumn Basho

Author: Jim Armstrong

The author is a longtime journalist who has covered sports in Japan for over 25 years. You can find his articles on SportsLook.